An overview of the development of vertical sampling technologies for ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are harmful to human health and the environment, and are precursors of other toxic air pollutants, e.g. ozone (O3) and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). In recent years, due to scientific and technological advancements, vertical VOC profile in the atmos...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental management 2019-10, Vol.247, p.401-412
Main Authors: Dieu Hien, Vo Thi, Lin, Chitsan, Thanh, Vu Chi, Kim Oanh, Nguyen Thi, Thanh, Bui Xuan, Weng, Chien-Erh, Yuan, Chung-Shin, Rene, Eldon R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ozone precursors
Secondary air pollutants
Secondary organic aerosol
Tethered balloons
UAV
Vertical VOC sampling
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Summary:Atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are harmful to human health and the environment, and are precursors of other toxic air pollutants, e.g. ozone (O3) and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). In recent years, due to scientific and technological advancements, vertical VOC profile in the atmosphere has been increasingly studied since it plays an essential role in the atmospheric research by providing multilevel three-dimensional data. Such information will improve the predictive ability of existing air quality models. This review summarizes the latest development of vertical VOC sampling technologies, highlighting the technical and non-technical challenges with possible solutions and future applications of vertical VOC sampling technologies. Further, other important issues concerning ambient VOCs have also been discussed, e.g. emission sources, VOC air samplers, VOC monitoring strategies, factors influencing airborne VOC measurement, the use of VOC data in air quality models and future smart city air quality management. Since ambient VOC levels can fluctuate significantly with altitude, technologies for vertical VOC profiling have been developed from building/tower-based measurements and tethered balloons to aircrafts, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellites in order to improve the temporal-spatial capacity and accuracy. Between the existing sampling methods, so far, UAVs are capable of providing more reliable VOC measurements and better temporal-spatial capacities. Heretofore, their disadvantages and challenges, e.g. sampling height, sampling time, sensitivity of the sensors and interferences from other chemical species, have limited the application of UAV for vertical VOC profiling. [Display omitted] •Existing vertical volatile organic compound (VOC) sampling technologies were reviewed.•Importance of vertical VOC profiling is discussed.•Advantages and limitations of VOC samplers are presented.•Challenges and potential applications of unmanned aerial vehicle are addressed.
ISSN:0301-4797
1095-8630
DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.06.090